Apparatus for separating ores



W. .L. IMLAY. Apparatus for Separating Ores. No. 228,719. Patemediune 8,1880.

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IVJTNESSES:

NPETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D, C

NITED STATES WILLIAM L. IMLAY, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

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APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ORES SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent No. 228,719, dated June 8, 1880. Application filed November 8, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. IMLAY, of Camden, in the county of Camden and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Separating Ores; and I do hereby declare the following to he a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Figs. 3 and 4c are plans of details.

My invention has relation to an improved machine or apparatus for separating ores, in which separation is effected by agitating the ores in a peculiar manner, while at the same time a current or stream of water is caused to play upon them; and said machine or apparatus consists of a suitable frame-work supporting a tray or series of trays arranged in a slanting position and connected with an cecentric or crank shaft or shafts in such manner that a reciprocating motion lengthwise and an elliptical motion will be communicated to said tray or trays. Said tray is provided with a water-box of peculiar construction, arranged to discharge its liquid contents upon the ore fed to the tray, the effect of the combined action, resulting from the movement of the actuating-shaft and the play of the water, being to cause the sand or earthy matter to work down to and over one end of said tray, while the mineral or metal separated therefrom works to the other end of the tray, and is there collected or caused to be discharged by means of a chute or incline into a receiver, the operation being continuousi. 6., proceeding without intermission for charging or discharging so long as the feed is kept up.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A designates the frame of the machine or apparatus, consisting of a base, A, having four posts or uprights, a a, with longitudinal bars a a, connecting said posts at the top, as shown. a a are other bars, firmly fastened to the inner sides of the posts a a, forming horizontal ways.

B represents a tray, of which any desired number may be employed, as hereinafter set forth. Said tray is of the elongated form shown, having a flat bottom, I), sides b b, and ends Z1 b A short distance from each end, and resting on the bottom I), are transverse cleats or ribs 0 C, which form dams, the sides of which adjacent to the water-box are inclined, while their reverse sides are vertical. Between the dam G and the end I) the bottom I) is formed with perforations 11 which open into a conduit or trunk,E, and bet-ween the dam G and the end b said bottom is cut away, as shown at 11 forming an opening to another trunk or conduit, D. Covering the perforations b and extending from a point above the dam O to the end b of the tray, supported by and between the sides of the tray, or in any other suitable way, is a removableincline, G Between the lower edge of said incline and the upper surface of the dam 0 there is a passageway, 0 for a purpose hereinafter set forth.

The tray B rests on an oblong rectangular frame, F, composed of the side bars,f f, and end bars, f f, and is firmly secured to said frame by side pieces, f or other equivalent means, so that said frame forms a component of said tray.

G is an eccentric or crank shaft journaled in suitable bearings g g onthe bars a and attached, by means of boxes g g, to the frame F, so that when said shaft is rotated said frame and the tray resting upon and secured to it will be caused to move longitudinally through their entire length and to describe or move through an ellipse between their point of connection with said shaft and their support at the opposite end.

The end of the frame F remote from the shaft G is sustained upon a cross-piece, F, which rests upon the bars a said cross-piece being of such thickness that the tray B will be slightly elevated at the end adjacent to said cross-piece, or will be horizontal throughout when the shaft or eccentric of the shaft Gris at its top center.

H is a box composed of two wedge-shaped or tapering ends, it h, and two inclined or flaring sides, h h. The sides h h are arranged to almost meet at their lower edges, so as to leave a narrow opening, h between them, or

ter to the box H. A hopper,

they may be slightly farther apart than the breadth indicated for said opening, and be connected by a perforated metallic plate, 71., which forms a bottom for said box. The box H is pivoted between the sides I) I) of the tray, as shown at h, and is provided with a notched lever, I, engaging with a stud or pin, 1', in the end I) of the tray B. K is a pipe or inlet for the admission of waapron, or other device for feeding ore to the tray B between the water-box and the end W, or upon the incline 0 should be also provided.

1 The operation is substantially as follows: Theore or sand containing the mineral or metal to be separated is fed to the tray B between the water-box Hand the end b falling upon the incline C Wateris at the same time admitted to the boX H through the inlet K, and rotary motion communicated to the shaft G, causing the tray B to be reeiprocated lengthwise and made to rise and fall elliptically between its shaft-support G and rigid support F. This motion of the tray, combined with the action of the water, has the effect of separating the mineral or metal from the sand, the latter, with the water, passing over the dam C, while the former is worked back over the dam G. and passes down through the opening I) to the conduit E, and thence, by an incline, E, to a suitable receiver. The Water and sand which pass off through the conduit D may be permitted to flow away or may be caused to drop into another tray, B, similar to that which they have just left, there to be treated for any mineral or metal which may possibly have escaped separation in the first operation. The object of the incline is to receive the ore fed to the machine and lead it beneath the water box, and also to prevent the swash which would result from a wave meeting a vertical wall, like the end 0 the reciprocation of the tray producing a succession of waves, which gently roll up the incline, and on their recession leave the heavy parts suspended in them on their ascent, or a portion of such parts deposited on said incline.

Under some circumstances the dams G C may be dispensed with, and where slime ore is to be treated the bottom I) may be roughened by any suitable means, as by coating said bottom with linseed-oil and putting on over the oil a layer of sand. This coating or roughening (indicated at b) has the effect of holding the mineral or metal and earthy matter suspended in the water until separation is effected, where, if a roughened surface were not provided, the slime would sink to and become deposited upon the bottom of the tray, defying separation.

Where ore containing minerals or metals of different specific gravities is to be treated, said minerals or metals may be separated from the sand or earthy matter and from each other by providing as many trays as there are kinds of minerals or metals in such ore, and arranging the trays one above the other at different angles of inclination with reference to the horizontal bars a Thus, the uppermost tray should be set at such an angle as that the heaviest mineral or metal will be separated therein from the residue of the ore, which will pass to the tray below, the latter being set at an angle of inclination different from that of the tray above. Here the mineral or metal of the next greatest gravity will be separated, and so on through the series of minerals or metals, until the residuum from the last tray is sand or refuse matters.

The angle of inclination for the tray or trays must be determined by the quality or character of the ore treated under the judgment and skill of the operator. With ore containing four per centum of 'sulphurets Ihave obtained complete separation with a tray about five feet long, arranged so that when its eccentric, which had a throw or moved through a circle having a diameter of one inch, was at its top center said traywas horizontal, or nearly so, throughout its entire length, and when said eccentric was at its lower center the adjacent end of said tray was lower than its other or flow-off end.

Any suitable means for adjusting the angle of inclination of the tray which will not interfere with the peculiar manner of its movement may be employed.

The means I have illustrated consist in making the sustaining cross'piece F movable on the bars a and sliding it along said bars to or'from the shaft G, as the necessities of the case require. quality of ore said cross-piece should be firm] y fastened in position by screws or other retaining devices until a change of its location is required.

The water-box is made adjustable to different angles, it being important to vary the direction of impingement of the jets of water with ore of different grades.

The angle of inclination of the water-box will depend upon the quality-i. 6., fineness or coarseness-of'the ore to be treated. I have satisfactorily treated or separated ore so fine as to pass through a screen of a hundred meshes to the inch with the water-box standing at or about the angle indicated in the drawings. With coarser ore the box may be required to be adjusted nearer to or even in a vertical line, or inclining in a direction contrary to that shown in the drawings, or with its discharge-opening toward the base of the incline C The original, drawings which are made to a scale of one-half an inch to the foot, indicate the relative sizes of the parts of the apparatus.

In practice I would recommend that the trays be ten feet long and as wide as may be consistent-with strength, the other parts be.- ing in proportion. With a tray of the dimensions given the water-inlet K may be half an inch in diameter.

To produce the best results attainable with When adjusted for a given this separator I recommend that the shaft G be run at a high rate of speed. With ore containing four per centum of mineral and fine enough to pass through a screen having a bundred openings or meshes to the inch I have obtained very thorough separation when the shaft G made four hundred and twenty-five revolutions per minute, the tray, of course, reciprocating correspondingly, and less satisfactory results when the speed was either increased or lessened.

As a substitute for the water-box H, a pipe having a slit-opening or a line of perforations on its under side may be employed.

What I claim as my invention is 1. Thecombination of the tray B,constructed as described, whereby ore will pass over one end of the same, with a support at one end having a fixed axis, and an eccentric or crank shaft at the other, whereby a longitudinallyreciprocatory movement is imparted to one end of said tray, while an elliptical movement in a vertical plane is imparted to the other end, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a separator-tray, B, a pivoted adjustable water-box, H, substantially as shown and described.

8. A separator-tray, B, having transverse cleats or ribs 0 O, the sides of which adjacent to the water-box are inclined, while their reverse sides are vertical, forming dams, substantially as shown and described.

4. The reciprocating separator-tray B, in combination with an incline, G at one end, set at an angle to its bottom I), said incline terminating above the bottom, so as to leave a passage-way for the minerals between its lower edge and said bottom, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The separator-tray B, having a sanded or granulated bottom, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of tray B, frame F, support or cross-piece F, crank-shaft G, and

and with the bar F, supporting the other end,

so as to allow the same to be raised and lowg1 ered in order to vary the angle of inclination of the tray, substantially as described.

8. In combination with the horizontal bars or supports a the tray B, cross-piece F, and

eccentric or crank shaft G, the several parts being arranged and operating substantially as shown and described.

9. In an ore-separator, the combination of two or more trays supported in asuitable frame with separate and independent eccentric or crank shafts, substantially as shown and described, whereby they are reciprocated longitudinally and moved elliptically at one end in vertical planes, each of said trays being adjustable so as to vary the angles of inclination of their bottoms, said trays being also placed one above the other, and each provided with a water-box and an incline, so as to separate from each other and from the sand or other refuse matter metals or minerals of different specific gravities.

10. In combination with the frame A, supparts a and transverse eccentric or crank shafts G G, the trays B B, placed one above the other, and adapted to move longitudinally and elliptically in vertical planes, each of said trays having water-conductors H H and inclines (l and the upper tray, B, having a conduit, D, leading to the tray below, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing l have hereunto set my hand this 2d day of November, 1877.

WILLIAM L. IMLAY.

Witnesses:

M. D. CoNNoLLY, OHAs. F. VAN HORN. 

